It had first been settled about two years before; the first pioneer was Baldwin Howard, whose initial residence was about 1 mile (1.6 km) south of the present town of Odon.

The original name was used for twelve years; in 1835, residents supported a petition to change the township's name to "Madison", and the county commissioners granted their request.

[6] Among the township's leading nineteenth-century residents was one Ben Perkins, a mulatto; despite the prevailing sentiments of the time, he was well regarded in the community.

Living at a time when only whites held the franchise, he regularly voted the Whig ticket without being challenged.

To the even greater surprise of local Democratic leaders, Perkins refused to vote the party line in the presidential election of that autumn, instead supporting John C. Frémont, the Republican candidate.